SYMBOLIC OR SUBSTANTIVE? GREENWASHING IN CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS OF TURKISH FIRMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v22.n4.3441Keywords:
Corporate Environmental Disclosure, Greenwashing, Sustainability ReportingAbstract
This study examines the verifiability and credibility of environmental disclosures within firm sustainability reporting, with a specific focus on the growing problem of greenwashing within emerging economies. Although sustainability reporting has been studied within Turkey previously, there is limited evidence to show how sectoral practices are aligned with greenwashing indicators and whether such claims are compatible with international verification schemes such as CDP, GRI, and DJSI. Using qualitative content analysis, 36 reports of 12 large companies in the finance, energy, textile, and food sectors between the years 2021 to 2023 were analyzed using a coding scheme of six indicators of greenwashing as identified in the literature. The findings show that imprecise environmental claims and promises for long-term commitments with no concrete plan for implementation are the most prevailing tendencies in all industries. Additionally, a consistency comparison analysis shows that most reported claims are not third-party certified and present inconsistencies between corporate reports and external data on sustainability. This research contributes to greenwashing literature by charting a sector-level typology of symbolic versus substantive disclosure in sustainability reporting and illustrating how institutional loopholes in Turkey impact firm communication strategy. Apart from the national context, this study identifies certain more universal emerging market issues, where inadequate regulation enforcement raises symbolic sustainability communication risk. This study concludes on policy suggestions to implement performance-based, uniform, and externally audited reporting schemes for increased transparency and accountability.
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